Sluing crane.



F. SMULDERS.

SLUING CRANE.

APPLICATION FILED 05c. 10. 1912,

1,139,915, Patented May18,1915.

rR-ANs SMULDERS, or ROTTERDAIVI, NETHERLANDS.

sLu lNe CRANE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented May 18, 1915 Application filed December 10, 1912. Serial No. 735,904.

' To all whomit may concern Be it known that I, FRANs SMoLDnRs, subject of the Q ueen of the Netherlands, residing at Eendrachtsweg 9, Rotterdam, Netherlands, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sluing Cranes, of which the following is a specification.

- In sluing cranes, it is customary to balance the load and also a portion of the weight of the crane, by means of counterweights. This balancing is of great importance, particularly in the case of floating cranes, in orderthat.the'vessel-which supports the crane may be maintained in its horizontal position, a condition which is'frequently necessary. A course frequently followed is to balance a part of the weight of the sluing craneby a fixed weightwhile the weightof the load is balanced by a' movable counterweight. However, the stability of a floating crane vessel or of the craneitself,

does not depend. upon the horizontal posi- 1 tion of the vessel but solely on the height'of the center of gravity of the whole, above 25 the level of the water; l

Now counterweights, the weight of which 'is often very considerable, and especially movable counterweights, have a tendency to raise the center of gravity of the whole. Even if fixed counterweights can be disposed at a small distance above the level of thewater, it is not so always with movable counterweights as considerations of construction often necessitate their being placed at great heights.

The present invention has for its object to remedy this drawback as far as possible by diminishing the movable counterweight.

It is illustrated diagrammatically in the accompanying drawing inlwhich 1 represents a slumg crane, mounted on a i pivot 2 supported on a vessel 3.

it denotes a fixed counterweight for balancing a part of the cranes weight and 5 is a movable counterweight displa ceable along the guideway 6 to balance the load.

G'opies or this patent ma be obtained 101 According to the invention, a part 5?" of the counterweight for balancing the load is added to the fixed counterweight 4 and the guideway 6 is prolonged beyond the axis of; the pivot 7 so that the movablefcounter- Q 1" weight 5 can assume the'position indicated in broken lines on the drawing to balance the fixed part 5* when thecrane is notsupporting a load. It will be seen that this arwater.

formed, I declarethat; what I claim is:

In. a floating sluing crane, the combina centralpivot about which said support and crane are revoluble, a fixed counterweight depending from thelower face of said crane '55 rangement tends to lower perceptibly the center of gravity of the whole, the ifixed part 5 of the load balancing counterweight being disposed'very near totlie level of thel Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature offmy said invention and in what manner the sameis to' be pertion of'a crane support, a crane extending upwardly .frornsaid support, a substantially support near one edge thereof, said fixed counterweight being of such a weight as to balance the entire weight of the crane .and'a f part ,of the \weight of the load to be .75

handled by the latter, amovable counter weight on the upper-'- face of said crane 3 support, said movable counterweight be ing of such a weightfas t0 balancetheremainder of the load, both of said coun= terweights being below the; lowermost'por tion of said crane, and means on the; upper" face of 'said crane support upon-which said movable counterweight may be moved; bei yond said pivot. f g In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses. g

FRANS- SMULDERS.-

Witnesses C. J. READ, ,H 1

J. H. WELEKEe.

five cents each, by addressing we Commissioner of iPatents 5 Washington, D. C. i 

